The city has adopted a new three-year strategic plan for New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services.
At its Dec. 11 meeting, council adopted the 2023 to 2026 New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services’ strategic plan. The plan states the department’s vision is to serve its communities by providing exceptional and innovative fire and emergency rescue services.
“This strategic plan will build our foundation over the next three years by focusing on recruiting and retaining staff, making infrastructure and systems improvements, and position the department to produce better service outcomes while meeting our regulatory and legislated requirements,” said the plan.
The strategic plan describes the services provided by New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services. These include: fire suppression and prevention; emergency medical response; rescue and special operations; fire code enforcement and inspections; life safety, education and community outreach; and emergency management preparedness and response.
“While the name ‘fire and rescue’ suggests the traditional role of dealing with fires and emergency rescue services, the department responds to all hazards, including extreme climate and weather events, vehicle and train related incidents, hazardous material responses, technical rope rescue emergencies, and supporting provincewide needs such as wildfires, when needed,” said the report
According to the document, the number of medical calls attended by the fire department have increased, with calls ranging from serious medical and mental illness challenges to medical health emergencies resulting from heat and extreme weather events. It noted the department is relied on as a part of the emergency health services offered the community.
“To date, we have done this with staffing levels that have gone virtually unchanged for several decades,” said the report.
That could soon change, if council’s direction to staff during recent budget discussions is approved as part of the city’s 2024 budget.
At its Dec. 11 budget workshop, council gave staff direction on the 2024 general fund operating budget that included new staffing for the fire department. If those positions are approved with the adoption of the budget, it could see the hiring of nine new suppression firefighters.
The strategic plan outlines some of the challenges being faced by New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service. These challenges include:
- Significant population increases in the city.
- Dense urban landscape with buildings of increasing heights.
- Aging buildings stock with unsprinklered wood fame and heritage buildings.
- Industrial areas with restricted accessibility due to heavily congested traffic networks.
- Increasing number, variation and duration of calls.
- Impact of climate change, including increased extreme weather events.
- Need for additional staff, and increasing competition for labour.
- Location on a flood plain with extensive road and rail network transporting dangerous goods.
- Increasing social challenge associated with affordability, opioid crisis, homelessness and vulnerable populations, said the report.
What’s in the strategic plan?
The strategic plan has five strategic priorities that will guide the work of New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services in the next three years:
Community safety and wellness: improve community safety for all people and assets in the community.
People and human resources: Focus on on recruitment and retention at all levels of the department to support professional development, physical and mental well-being of staff and to enhance community engagement, public education and community outreach.
Asset management and physical infrastructure: Modernize and improve existing facilities to be better located and meet modern post-disaster standards and to transition to carbon neutrality; upgrade training facilities and opportunities; and plan for future facilities, equipment and apparatus through a detailed asset management plan in alignment with the city’s asset management plan.
Technology and data analytics: Invest in technology systems that support effective and efficient operations and compliance; use data and best practices to guide services excellence and informed decision making; and implement data-driven decision by introducing a strategy and process to collect and monitor data and performance metrics to improve policy and decision-making.
Organizational and climate resiliency: improve business systems and processes; increase effective communications with internal and external interest groups; and proactively work to minimize disruption from climate-related events (heat, snow) and be prepared to respond accordingly.
New Westminster fire and Rescue Services was established as the Hyack Company on July 24, 1861, making it one of the province’s oldest fire departments.
New Westminster currently has three halls: Fire Hall 1 (Glenbrook) at 1 East Sixth Ave.; Fire Hall 2 (West End) at 820 13th St.; and Fire Hall 3 (Queensborough) at 1011 Ewen Ave. At one time, the city was served by four fire halls (with past fire hall locations including facilities at Royal Avenue and Eighth Street, and Cherry Street and East Eighth Avenue.)
Throughout 2023, council members have raised the issue of building a new fire hall in New Westminster to serve the growing community. At a November budget workshop, council questioned the process involved in building a new fire hall.
Fire Chief Erin Williams said he’s been working with the city’s facilities manager to begin that process, which starts with a feasibility assessment.
“That's really the first step,” he told council. “We've been doing a lot of data collection and analysis of locations within our internal sources. But really, what it comes down to is working with other departments in the city and initiating that first step in the process. And that will probably occur, I believe, in the new year.”
